Bali blast: A wake up call for Australia

Reni Winata Director Australian Studies Center University of Indonesia Jakarta

The Bali bombing should serve as a wake up call not only to the Indonesian government but also to the Australian government. All this time, Canberra has been ignoring concerns expressed by their own intellectuals, church-leaders and media over their over-zealous support for the U.S. war against global terrorism and also for U.S. plan to attack Iraq.

Australia has been too readily succumbing to any U.S. proposal despite the fact that the Germans and French are not in favor of the war against Iraq as well as thousands of Americans, including the families of Sept. 11 victims, who have been rallying against this drive. Howard and his ministers have indeed over-extended their ambition to play international politics at the expense of ordinary Australians.

The Bali blast is indisputably a tragedy for innocent people, terrorism and terrorists should not be given the room to move. Even though it is too hasty to conclude that the bombings were targeted at Australians as investigations are still underway, the catastrophe hopefully will serve as a catalyst for "soul- searching" for both communities, Australia and Indonesia.

In recent years, Canberra has been launching a series of draconian security measures, bi-partisanly and unilaterally arguing that illegal immigrants or refugees should not be allowed to enter in order to safeguard Australians and to protect Australia's sovereignty.

That Pacific Solution is good for Australia as well as for the Pacific island countries (despite the fact that the Pacific countries are not in a bargaining position). That it is Australia's interests to police the "Sea of Instability" which stretches from Indonesia up to the Pacific Islands. That setting up holding centers and deterring illegal immigrants or militant groups would be good for Indonesia, disregards the complex political process Indonesia is currently trying to deal with.

It is important to note that the global campaign against terrorism led by the U.S. has gradually lost its substance and been incorporated to serve a myriad of interests, either for getting control over oil-resources, assaulting long-time enemies, pressuring separatists, strengthening security bases or exercising global politics and so forth. Terrorism remains and the culprits are still at large, but U.S. as the only global superpower has engaged themselves in another adventure.

It is timely for Canberra to reevaluate how this would impact their long-term interests. Australian interest lies, as reminded by the opposition and intellectuals, with the region, either here, in this part of the world, or in the Pacific. After over two hundred years of settlement, Australia should feel comfortable with the region. The recent anti-Australian voices in the Pacific or the security threat against Australians in Indonesia should be accommodated just as much as international terrorism should be addressed.

The fact that so many Australian tourists were at the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar when the bombing occurred and the reluctance of the Australian businesspeople to return following the bombing should send a wake up call to Canberra to review their approach and policy in dealing with the region.